Intermission
by Tristansdream
Summary: A bridge between my first story, Juliet is Awakening, and its upcoming sequel. Using this for story development but feel free to read if you really liked Juliet is Awakening.
1. Secrets & Loans pt 1Winter and Termites

**_Hey y'all. So it's been a while since I finished Juliet is Awakening and I've been thinking about doing a sequel. It would take place a couple of months down road, maybe even right before the end of the school year. I've got the basic story of it in my head, but specific things are escaping me. So while I work on that, I'm doing this for story development, so it's clear in my head where Tristan and Rory's relationship has come, and hopefully it will help me out with the sequel. This doesn't have any clear plot direction. It's more like where I think Tristan and Rory's relationship would fit within Season Two's episodes. It's like a bridge between Juliet is Awakening and its sequel (right now the working title is "The Capulet's Guide to dating a Montague"). So please don't think of this as the sequel, because I'm not intending it to be, and I will probably take it down when I start posting the sequel. I'm only doing this because I need encouragement and some of you asked for more Tristan/Rory interaction. _**

**_So how I'm doing this is I'm listing what episodes these scenes would be in. I don't know how many episodes I'll be looking at, hopefully no more than four, with about 4 or 5 scenes to each episode. If I get what I need before than, I'll let you know I'm stopping this experiment. I'm starting off with "Secrets and Loans." Comment please and thanks for reading._**

**_xoxoxoxoxo_**

Tristan hated winter.

Surveying the white blanket covering his girlfriend's front lawn, her neighbor Babette's lawn, and pretty much everything he laid his blue eyes on, Tristan sulked. The night before had brought through a snow shower, resulting in three inches, added to the several inches that had made its home on the lawns and rooftops in the last few weeks. The only thing snow was good for was for causing snow days. Sure, it made everything beautiful, with its crystal like icicles and powder snow. But it was cold and it made driving difficult, walking difficult and it was just plain messy. What he wouldn't give to live in L. A.

Tristan muttered an expletive before getting out of the warm cab of his Porsche. The cold air stung his face bitterly, and he instinctively lowered his head, shoving his hand into his pea coat pockets as he hurried up the walk to the Gilmore house. When he got to the top of the porch stairs, he stopped. A gapping hole in the porch caught his attention, surprising him. How did that get there? It had to be recent. He had just been there yesterday and he didn't remember a hole in the porch.

A cold burst of wind snapped him out of his short reverie. Tristan knocked on the door, giving the hole one last quizzical look. Lorelai opened the door, looking frazzled with a cordless phone on her ear. She waved him in without a word, obviously listening to the person on the other line. Tristan entered the foyer willingly, taking off the his coat as he silently welcomed the warmth. Usually, Lorelai would call Rory when he came over, but it seemed she was too preoccupied for that, so Tristan headed to Rory's room on his own. The door was open and Rory lounged on her bed, reading from her textbook with a pencil in her hand and a note book under her forearm. She amazed him. Didn't she ever take a break from studying?

He leaned on her doorframe. "How did I get stuck dating a nerd?" He mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

Her head snapped up, her beautiful face brightening as she looked at him. Then she feigned annoyance. "Some of us don't have a legacy to get us into Harvard. We actually have to get the grades to get in." Then she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled broadly, remembering his reason for the unplanned visit. "I'm finally free. My parents have officially lifted my grounding."

She returned his smile. "Really? I hadn't consider you grounded in the first place."

"I was only allowed three free hours a day. Do you know how hard that is?"

She rolled her eyes. "I forgot who I was talking to," she muttered.

"Come on, Rory. We have to celebrate. Kaddisfly is playing at CBGB. We should go."

"When?"

"Tonight, of course."

Her eyes went wide. "Tonight?"

"Yea. If we go now, I'm sure we'll still be able to get tickets."

She shook her head. "Tristan, my mother isn't just going to let me go to New York City on a Sunday night at a drop of a hat because you were released from your 'grounding'."

"Why not? She seems cool."

"You obviously don't know Lorelai. Besides, this isn't the greatest time to spring this on her. We're going through a situation."

"Does it have anything to do with the fishing hole in your porch?"

She got up from the bed, walking toward him as she looked at him sheepishly. "You saw that, huh?"

"Saw it? It needs it's own caution sign."

"Yea, well…" her voice drifted. She stood in front of him, digging her fingernail into the doorframe he was leaning on in a thoughtful way. Tristan tried hard to concentrate on her worried face, and not on how her burgundy shirt clung to her small frame, or how her scent, vanilla mixed with a hint of coffee, called for him to move closer, bring his lips to hers, and ultimately get caught by her mother.

_Don't be selfish, _Tristan reprimanded mentally. _She doesn't need you getting gropey right now. _It was hard to control himself. He hadn't cared so much about his former girlfriends, so he had developed some bad habits, mainly not being much of a listener. He was trying to fix that for Rory's sake. But moments like these, where his learned behavior told him to move in for instant gratification, tested his resolve. It was always easier if he concentrated on her thoughts as quickly as possible. "What's going on?"

"We have termites."

That wasn't something you heard everyday among the silver spooners. "Wow," was all he was able to squeak out.

"It's going to cost us fifteen thousand dollars to fix it."

This was easier for him to hear. Fifteen thousand dollars didn't sound like a lot to be worried about. "Doesn't sound that bad."

He realized his mistake when her crystal blue eyes looked up at him incredulously. "Doesn't sound that bad?" She repeated in barely a whisper.

He wanted to kick himself. He kept forgetting she wasn't rich. Fifteen thousand dollars could easily be spent by his parents on a Christmas gift or for a week vacation. But that was his world. Rory didn't have that luxury. Something like this was obviously a huge problem. "I'm sorry, Ror. I wasn't thinking." He watched as the animosity faded from her face, the preoccupation returning. He couldn't resist. He swept her chestnut hair away from her face, letting the silk flow off his hand as it laid on her back. "What are you two going to do?"

She shrugged, her eyes averting to the doorframe again. "My mom is calling her boss right now, hoping she'll let Mom have an advance just to tent the house. She talked about getting a loan, but she'll have to wait until tomorrow for that."

He thought about her grandparents, about the extravagant parties they threw, the ones his parents always attended when they were in town. "Can't your grandparents help?"

Her eyes lit up, only to fall again. "She won't go for that. It killed her to go to them for my Chilton tuition. She'd sell her soul before she'd do that again."

He looked down the hall, watching Lorelai walk around the living room while she talked on the phone. He felt a little sorry for her. It had to be nerve racking trying to find a way to wrangle up money out of thin air. But his impression of Lorelai was she was a strong woman. She would be able to handle this. Rory, on the other hand…

Her eyes were a fretful mess. He had to do something about that, and he knew just the way to do it.

"Get your coat. We'll get coffee at Luke's."

It took her a second to give in, and he thought she was going to refuse. But then she nodded, swiftly walking around him to the coat rack for her coat. He followed her, permitting himself a small smile. At least he was learning what he could do to cheer her up.

The winter eagerly nipped at them when they stepped onto the porch, but Tristan didn't mind the season that much now. He put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and guided her around the large opening in the porch, hoping he would be able to get her mind off her troubles, if only for a few moments.

_**xoxoxoxoxo**_

Rory sipped her little piece of heaven, savoring the warmth radiating from the blue ceramic mug to her still frigid hands. The sweet coffee caressed her tongue, her throat before settling deep inside her, melting the outdoors away with each taste.

She loved coffee. If she could inject it straight into her veins, she would. But letting it settle on her taste buds was just as satisfying.

Tristan was watching her. She hadn't ignored his pitying glances since she had told him they were in a bind. She had just hoped that once inside of Luke's, he would move on to something else. Life in Tristan's world always had drama. She just expected some today would distract him from her problems.

But he wasn't offering anything, so she was going to bring up something on her own. "I forgot to tell you yesterday. I got my PSAT scores back."

He sipped his coffee, his mouth twisting in a half smile. "Let me guess. A perfect 1600."

"No. I got 740 verbal and a 760 math."

His eyes shot up. "Whoa. Way to go, Dexter."

She glowered at him. Sometimes she really didn't know why she dated him. He was so annoying, she wanted to swing a bat at his head. "I can't wait to find out what you got."

He chuckled. "Not that it matters." Then he sobered. "Honestly, I think your scores are great. We'll have fun in Harvard."

She smiled as she imagined it. The historic buildings, the well kept lawns, holding Tristan's hand as they walked through the quad. Hanging out in the dorms, meeting up for coffee at a nearby café after lectures, maybe even going to a few lectures together.

Her smile grew wider, and she watched Tristan as he smiled with her. He probably knew she was picturing it. It was her turn to jab him a bit. "If your scores are good enough."

He shrugged it off. "They're just practice scores. I'll do better on the SAT."

He was right. She put too much thought into her score. But if it was this good now, would she ever be able to top it come the time for the actual SAT?

Tristan's eyes shifted to the window, then his body went rigid. She followed his gaze, straight to the hazel eyes of Dean. He was glaring at Tristan but when he realized she was watching, he walked away. Rory sighed. She hadn't spoken to Dean since the night she had told him she was with Tristan, and she continued to feel awful about it. Dean had been more than her boyfriend. He had also been a friend and she couldn't stop blaming herself for causing him heartache. He didn't deserve what happened. She just hoped he would eventually realize how sorry she was about it.

"Stock boy is really starting to get on my nerves," Tristan muttered gruffly, taking in some more coffee. "I wish he would disappear."

Rory ignored the comment, knowing any remark she made about Dean would ultimately be seen as some kind of favoritism toward him. She moved on to something safer. "So your parents are in town."

He nodded. "They just got back yesterday. Ground breaking for a major hotel in Paris. So if you're ever in Paris, you can stay in our penthouse."

"What a coincidence! I was planning on going next week after my weekend in London." She took another sip as she let the sarcasm slip away. "How long are they staying?"

"I think my mother will stick around for a while. She has to start planning all the summer charity events she's on committee for. My dad will probably be on another trip in a couple of weeks. I know he mentioned something about Tokyo." He shrugged again, seemingly closing the subject. He usually didn't want to talk about his parents. It was a sour subject for him, and Rory was starting to think it was due to their constant trips. He acted like it didn't bother him when they were away, but when he did talk about the trips there was an underlying resentment, as if the trips offended him greatly.

In many ways, he reminded her of Lorelai. He didn't particularly like his parents, but she felt that part of him wanted to love them or at least their approval.

Her thoughts of Lorelai brought her back to the major issue at hand. The house. The termites. She groaned painfully. She needed a distraction. They may not be able to go to CBGB, but maybe they could go somewhere else. The thought of staying in and dwelling on the problem made her desperate for other plans. "Do you think we can do something tonight? I need to keep my mind off of things."

Tristan pondered for a moment before he gave her a mischievous smile. "I think I know of something we could do."

Her stomach lurched. She knew that look too well.


	2. Secret & Loans pt 2 Juvenile Delinquents

**_Sorry it took so long to post this but honestly, I thought the Fates were against me continuing this part of the story. Since my last posting I went on an extended vacation, had to put my laptop in to get fixed which lasted a month, only to find out I had to have it replaced, and I accidently erased this scene and had to rewrite it from scratch. I still don't think it's as good as when I originally wrote it, but I can live with it. Here's to hoping I can post the next scene sooner than later._**

**_xoxoxoxoxo_**

Chilton looked different at night. The tall trees peppering the grounds shed mysterious shadows over the building, and when the winter air blew, the swaying of the trees fooled the eyes into thinking there were dangers hiding in those shadows. The soft radiance of the night lights gave the old brick structure a ominous glow and Rory half expected the things she imagined in the shadows would manifest in the light shed by those small lanterns and overhead lights. Chilton was no longer an institution of learning, but an intimidating brick building, containing menace for anyone who dared to trespass on its peaceful night.

Rory turned to Tristan, who was fiddling with a small bag he had taken out of his glove compartment before leaving the car. The handle of a small Maglite was fixed between his lips, shining into the bag as he took out a key. "Good," he said when he placed the Maglite into his coat pocket. "I thought I lost the key to this place."

"I don't want to do this, Tristan."

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet, Mary."

"What if we get caught?"

"I've done this a dozen times and the only time I got caught was when that idiot Duncan started bragging about how we got that car into the school."

"But what if someone decides to come in?"

"It's Sunday night. The janitor has off and Charleston wouldn't come in unless he forgot something, and if he had, he would have come in yesterday."

Rory still wasn't convinced. This was wrong on so many levels. If they got caught, at the very least they would get suspended. As disconcerting as that felt, it didn't compare with the worse that could happen: Rory and Tristan could get expelled from Chilton and then formally charged with breaking and entering. Rory would have a criminal record and worse of all, expulsion from Chilton meant no Harvard. She couldn't afford for that to happen.

"Hey," he whispered, his hand caressing her upper arm tenderly. "We don't have to do this. You asked me to distract you and this is the best I could come up with. If you would rather do something else, we can go see a movie or go get some coffee." Then he lowered his forehead to hers. "But don't you want to? Don't you want to live dangerously once in your life?"

She smiled, amused. "You've been waiting to say that all night, haven't you?

He smiled back. "I knew it was only a matter of time." He laced his fingers with hers and gently pulled. "Come on."

Rory reluctantly followed, feeling some exhilaration despite her dread. She really should be putting her foot down, but being Tristan's girlfriend, she knew she would eventually be put into a precarious position. That didn't mean if they got caught, she would ever forgive him.

Tristan unlocked the door with the key he magically had. She wasn't about to ask him how he got it. She felt the less she knew about his illegal activities, the better. He let her in first and closed the door behind them. Inside the hall she felt even more intimidated. The usually bright, buzzing halls were eerily silent and dark, with the red exit signs glowing and the only true illumination coming from the skylights, letting some white light from the moon into the building.

Tristan turned on the Maglite, shining it as far down the hallway as possible. "So what do you want to do first?" He asked as they started down the hall. "We can raid the wood shop for spray pain and do Paris's locker. I'm thinking spraying 'fou' on it would be appropriate."

"I'm not spray painting 'crazy' in French on Paris's locker."

"What, too tame? You want to go with 'salope' instead?"

"No spray paint, period."

"Fine. How about the pool? I wouldn't mind going skinny dipping."

Rory glared at him. "Sure, and while we're at it, why don't I dye my hair blond and change my name to Christie Brinkley."

Tristan shrugged. "Works for me."

They continued walking in silence, and Rory wondered if this breaking and entering incident was about to be cut short since she wasn't going along with any of his ideas. She really didn't want to think of herself as some kind of prude, or a Mary, as he put it. But spray painting Paris's locker wasn't going to help her get into her good graces, and there was no way she was going to let Tristan see her naked, even though she was very interested in seeing him in his birthday suit.

Tristan stopped, his face turned toward this one classroom door. She couldn't see his face, so she couldn't speculate on what he was thinking. When he didn't speak for several seconds, she finally asked. "What?"

He turned back to her and smiled. "It's Mr. Remy's room."

She looked at the door again, remembering her teacher from last year. But she still had no clue why he had stopped. "And?"

He went into the classroom without explanation, so Rory curiously followed. The room was how it was last year, with the cherry desk facing the numerous rows of desks, the bookshelf in the back with books Rory suspected were just for show, and Friday's lesson still on the boards. Tristan sat on the edge of Remy's desk. "This is where I first saw you. I came back from…" Tristan stopped mid-sentence, seeming uncomfortable and started over. "I was out of school for a few days and when I came back, there you were, a new Mary."

She recalled that day. Mr. Remy was lecturing the class when a tall, lean, blond boy walked into the room, a slip in one hand and books in another. She remembered thinking he was cute in a Abercrombie and Fitch model type of way and then he caught her staring and she immediately averted her eyes, unhinged by the intensity of his gaze and the amused curl of his lips. She hadn't thought of him again until he caught up with her later, offering his notes for Remy's class. She thought he was being incredibly nice, until he wanted to have a study date and she refused. That's when his intent on calling her by that dreaded nickname became evident. That was when she knew he was a jerk.

"You never did let me borrow your notes for Remy's class."

Tristan smiled slyly. "You didn't want to make it a study date. You've seen my chicken scratch. There was no way you would have been able to make out my notes without my being there. "

"So you admit that offering me your notes was just a ploy to get a date out of me."

"Of course it was a ploy. I've used that line on all the new girls I wanted to date. But you were the first to refuse my help."

"I guess I was the only one that had some standards."

His smile grew as he pulled her close to him. "Really?" He said huskily, his lips an inch away from hers. "Then how did you end up here?"

Her breath wavered as his mouth settled on hers, his arms enveloping her and pressing her into him. Rory instinctively encircled her arms around his neck, savoring the wonderful electrified ripples coursing through her body and settling in her stomach. She loved being so close to him, threading her fingers in his smooth blond hair, resting her arms on his broad shoulders, feeling his warmth seep into her. She sighed as his hands slid to her hips and deepened the kiss. She was so glad she got him to quit smoking, at least when he was around her. It made him taste so much better.

She was happy to lose herself in the kiss, but when Tristan's hands started to unbutton her coat, her idle mind became alert, and the moment she felt his fingertips slip under her sweater to touch her waist, she pulled away slightly. Her eyes met his, gauging his reaction and seeing nothing there. She thought he would be disappointed or frustrated, but he just looked back at her, his eyes clouded, his fingers still touching her skin. She wondered if he knew how his touch made her feel. How her stomach dropped out whenever his fingers explored her body. How scared she was to let him go too far, even as she was curious. How terrified she was of her own yearning for his touch.

"Rory?" Tristan probed, his blank stare turning to concern.

Rory snapped out of her reverie. "We should go."

His thumbs grazed the waist of her jeans. "Is this bothering you?"

She shook her head even as she pushed his hands away. "This place gives me the creeps."

He looked at her a moment, as if deciding if he was going to believe her. When he stood up, a playful smile settled on his lips. "Okay, we'll get out of here, but first we have to stop at Charleston's office."

Rory felt relieved Tristan hadn't asked her too many questions. She knew he felt her uneasiness when he touched her and she thought he would call her on it. She didn't know how she would have reacted if he had pushed her to tell him why she was really nervous.

Then his words registered as she watched his figure exit the room. "Wait, what? Why are we stopping at Charleston's office?"

"There's something I have to do," he tossed over his shoulder nonchalantly.

"What?" When he didn't respond, she quickly followed him down the hall with new trepidation, lamenting she hadn't taken his offer for coffee when she had the chance. "Tristan?"


	3. Secret & Loans pt 3 Scores Discord

**_Sorry, another late entry. I'll hope I can get on schedule eventually. Thanks for reading._**

**_xoxoxoxoxo_**

Early Monday morning, Tristan was stuffed into his blue starched Oxford shirt, stripped navy tie and Chilton jacket, on his way out the door of his Hartford mansion to pick up his girlfriend for school. He hated Mondays, but even that couldn't affect the natural high he was still on. He had gotten Rory Gilmore to do something illegal yesterday, and even though he was wrong in doing so, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself. The last couple of weeks he had felt like he had lost his edge, that dating Rory had somehow made him honest. Spending so much time with her had distracted him and he hadn't felt the need to be destructive lately. But breaking into Chilton had proved he could still be the old Tristan, even if they hadn't done much more than sifted through Charleston's desk drawers and stole some chocolate pudding from the lunchroom. It felt good to know that dating a 'Mary' couldn't completely tame him.

As good as he felt, he knew he had to be careful with Rory. He couldn't let her get into trouble when he was to blame. It wouldn't be fair to her, it would surely make her mother and grandparents resent him, and it would probably put a strain on their relationship. He would hate himself if one of his stupid pranks cost him their relationship.

Still, he liked that his Mary had a little deviant behavior in her.

He reached his butler, who already had his coat ready for him, when he heard footsteps behind him. "Tristan!" he heard a familiar deep voice.

Tristan stiffened and turned, his eyes locking on his father Laurent's dark irises. His father was in his usual weekday wear: a dark suit, a white shirt and a jeweled colored tie, which happened to be emerald today. His father's premature gray hair was parted to the side, carefully groomed, without a hair out of place. Tristan could tell his father was minutes away from heading to the office. He gauged his father and felt relieved his dad didn't look upset. His father never stopped him on his way out. His father didn't talk to him at all unless it was to lecture him about his bad behavior. So he wondered what would make his father stop him now.

His father took a quick glance at his watch. "You've been leaving quite early for school lately."

"I pick up Rory for school."

"Rory?"

He rolled his eyes. Of course, his father wouldn't know who Rory was. He never paid attention to the girls Tristan dated, not that Tristan blamed him. "My girlfriend."

"Oh. So she doesn't want to drive her own car to school?"

Tristan crossed his arms in front of his chest, annoyed his dad was asking all these questions precisely when he had to head out. "Do you mind if we play twenty questions after school? I'm sort of in a hurry."

"Fine, but before you go, I found this while I was going through Saturday's correspondence."

His father outstretched a white envelope toward him. Again, Tristan gauged his father's look and when he didn't find any animosity, Tristan took the envelope. The College Board seal alerted him the contents of the envelope included his PSAT scores. He was mildly curious, but overall he didn't care one way or another about the results. He much rather be in his car heading to Stars Hollow. He folded the envelope and put it in his jacket pocket for later. "Thanks, Dad," he uttered as he turned toward the door.

"Wait, son. I want you to open it."

"Why, Dad?" He asked as he reached his butler and took his coat from him. "They're just stupid practice scores."

"Just humor me."

He thought about arguing with his dad, but it probably would be quicker if he just opened the damn thing. He slipped on his coat and took out the envelope from the jacket, intending to leave as soon as he read his scores to his dad. Taking the Tiffany letter opener being offered to him by his father, Tristan made quick work of the envelope and unfolded the document within. He skimmed the document until he came to the set of numbers he was looking for. He stared for a moment, drinking it in, then skimmed the document again. It couldn't be right. These couldn't possibly be his scores. But after looking through the two pages of the document he was forced to accept these were the numbers that represented his score.

"Well?" his father coaxed.

Tristan couldn't believe what was about to come out of his mouth but he had the comfort of having the proof in his hands. "I got a 700 verbal and a 760 math."

"What?" Laurent snatched the document from him and scanned the document himself. He laughed afterward. "Well, who would have thought? My son has a brain."

Tristan snapped out of his stunned stupor at that backhanded remark. "Yea, well, this will be something new. Now you have something good to tell your business partners, instead of how much of a screw up your son is."

Tristan made his way to the door, handing the letter opener to the lingering butler. "Tristan," his father called.

"I really have to go, Dad. Rory is waiting for me."

He welcomed the cold air on his face, hoping it would chill the sudden hotness under his collar. His father really knew how to burn him. Even though Tristan liked to think his father's opinion didn't bother him, little unexpected things like this came and always proved him wrong.

He really shouldn't care. These were practice scores and didn't mean anything, but how could he not be astounded and happy he got such high scores? It wasn't like he studied much, although he did have an A average and had always had a way with math. He honestly hadn't put much importance into the scores but now that they were back, he was glad he did well. He only wished his father hadn't been there to ruin the moment.

No matter. He would just chalk this up to yet another one of his father's countless jabs at him. He wouldn't let this bother him for long. Besides, he knew of at least one person who would be ecstatic to hear the good news.

**_xoxoxoxoxo_**

It wasn't unusual for the ride to Chilton to be full of silence. Rory hadn't let go of her addiction to reading on the way to and from school and after a few weeks of fighting it, Tristan had given up. But today's silence was difference. This was not a silence of quiet companionship. This was charged with electricity.

The tension in the cab of the Porsche was so thick, it could be cut with a knife, and Tristan wasn't sure why. He shot a quick glance away from the road toward Rory, surprised she was still looking at his College Board scores. How could she still be reading? It had taken him two seconds to see his scores.

Her silence was killing him. "Ror?"

She looked up, her smile wide. "I can't believe it. These are amazing scores."

Her smile was infectious. "I knew you'd be happy."

"Happy? I'm ecstatic."

Tristan drew his eyes back onto the road, satisfied with her reaction and his ability to predict it.

"I thought you said you didn't prepare," she said.

"I didn't."

"But these scores…these are not the scores of someone who didn't study."

He thought he was hearing wrong. Was she implying something? "Come again?"

"There's no shame in admitting it. I mean, these scores help determine what schools we can get into. Taking them seriously is only normal."

Okay, this part he didn't anticipate. He thought she would just be happy, not disbelieving. "I didn't study, Rory."

"But you must have done something. Did you take a class? I heard Paris talk about the classes she took before winter break. She said she felt more confident."

His frustration was growing by the minute. "You think I'm lying about some stupid test scores?"

"No," she backpedaled. "But you shouldn't be embarrassed to admit if you took some prep classes."

Tristan bit his lip to keep from saying something he knew he would regret. This was blowing his mind. He thought she would be happy for him. She was supposed to erase his father's reaction from the slate with her enthusiasm and praise. She was supposed to be beyond impressed and spend the rest of the day in awe of his intelligence. Okay, so maybe he had been expecting too much but the least she could have done was congratulate him. Instead, she was doubting him. This was not how this scene was suppose to play out.

"I didn't take prep classes," he forced out of his clenched teeth. "I didn't do anything for this test other than roll out of bed the day of the test. I was lucky I found a pencil and a calculator in the car. Is it really that hard to believe that I can figure out some word association questions and a couple of trig problems?"

Rory kept her silence which bothered him even more. Her silence sounded like a resounding yes to him. He kept his eyes on the road, thinking how wrong he had been. She was the one person how was supposed to happy for him. But like his father, she didn't have enough faith in him to believe he could get a score this good, either.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Tristan thought he saw Rory turn to him a couple times with her mouth slightly open, as if she was going to say something, but she would only turn away a moment later. Tristan didn't have anything else to say to her, and even if he did, he knew he was mad enough to make the most innocent topic seem like an angry tirade.

When they got to school, Tristan quickly got out of the suffocating cab and, without waiting for her to get out of the car, headed into the school. He knew it wasn't a good idea to isolate her but he couldn't be around her at that moment, not with all this anger. He just hoped he would be able to cope with the fact she didn't think much of him and move on.


	4. Secrets & Loans pt 4 All is Well

**The weekend couldn't come quick enough in Rory's opinion. It had been a grueling week. Her mother hadn't had any luck in resolving their termite troubles. Lane was MIA. Tristan still wasn't talking to her. She didn't think she could feel any lower. **

**So by the final bell on Friday, all Rory had to look forward to was a weekend alone to think about her problems. Maybe she would finally find out what was going on with Lane. She could call her up this weekend and maybe hang out, catch up on what Rory had been missing and know she could feel better about something in her life. **

**Maybe Lane could help her figure out a way to apologize to Tristan. Rory sighed as she opened her locker to take out the books she would take home. She still hadn't gotten over what a jerk she had been. When she saw the scores, she had been in shock. She had hoped he would do well, that maybe if his scores were good he'd get motivated about studying for the SATs and get even better scores. But she hadn't expected the 1460 she saw in those documents. It didn't make sense. Tristan didn't pay attention in class, if he showed up for class at all. He barely got his homework in. He put off studying for a test for the last minute. That score didn't reflect his relaxed outlook on education. **

**Maybe that was what made her insist he prepared in some way. She wouldn't have been able to pull off that score if she treated her studies like he did. That just made it that much more unbelievable. How did he do it? How could he get away with slacking off when she had to work so hard to do well?**

**She groaned. She shouldn't be feeling this way, but part of her was jealous. He wouldn't have any problems getting into Harvard on his money alone. His grandfather had made that clear to Tristan a couple of times already, or at least that was what Tristan had implied to her. But as if that wasn't enough, he had to get these scores. He was a shoe in for Harvard now, and she could only hope her scores would make enough of an impression. **

**But regardless of how she felt, she knew that she had been wrong in judging Tristan that way. She believed he didn't study for the test. She knew he only woke up the day of the test and did his best. He wouldn't have done it any other way and she had been unfair to him, thinking he wouldn't do as well as he did.**

**As she left Chilton and walked through the parking lot, toward the bus stop across the street, she thought about Lane again, and how she could really use some of her unconventional advice.**

**She became aware of the rock music behind her getting louder, closer, until she saw the car pull up beside her, suddenly silent. She knew that car anywhere, but it surprised her it decided to stop next to her.**

**She looked up to see the driver seat window rolled down and Tristan looking at her, his eyes squinting. "Do you want a ride?"**

**She didn't think those would be the words to break the ice between them. But she would take them. She quickly nodded and hurried to the other side of the car, easing herself into the warmth of the passenger side seat. **

**He didn't say anything when she entered the car. His face was stony and his grip on the steering wheel told her he was not happy. She didn't want to wait for him to start. It didn't look good at that moment and she wanted to make sure she at least got an apology in before he could breathe a word. "I'm sorry."**

**Tristan's tense shoulders relaxed, quickly followed by his death grip on the wheel. "Yeah?"**

"**I was just shocked. I thought you would do well, just not that well. I guess I underestimated you."**

"**Story of my life," he muttered bitterly.**

**Rory didn't know what to say to that, mostly because she wasn't sure what he was referring to. There was a long pause, followed by his sigh. "I'm sorry, too." **

**Rory was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to apologize, especially since she didn't think this was his fault. She was the one that accused him of studying. She was the one who didn't trust him enough to believe he wouldn't lie about preparing. But he was apologizing.**

**She had to know why. "For what?"**

"**I overreacted. Before I picked you up, my father stopped me at the house. He saw the envelope from the College Board and wanted to see it. I really didn't care, but he was insisting, so I opened it. At first, I didn't believe it either. I thought I was reading it wrong. But it was right there in black and white. When my father saw the score, he almost jumped for joy. His troublemaker of a son 'had a brain', as he put it. The way he said it, he obviously had doubts about me before. I don't know. I guess my pranks have formed his opinion of me. I still expected him to think I was smart, though. So when you acted like you did, it kind of felt like it was a consensus. Everybody must think I'm an idiot, so much so that it's impossible for me to have gotten that score."**

**Rory grimaced. She felt so much more of a jerk now. Not only did she distrust his intelligence but she did it after his father alluded to the same thing. "I didn't think you're an idiot."**

"**But my dad does," he said in the most wounded voice she ever heard from him.**

**Rory stared at Tristan, wishing she could broach the topic of his relationship with his parents. It always felt like a taboo between them, but she felt the animosity, the disappointment, the sadness it brought to him. She couldn't imagine it. She had a great relationship with her mother. She might not see her father much, but she felt she had a pretty good relationship with him, too. She couldn't imagine being mad at them for long, but she couldn't imagine either one of them thinking she was an idiot, either. She couldn't see Lorelai going on countless trips without her, then coming back to practically ignore her. It just sounded awful.**

**Tristan glanced at her, his grim face suddenly shifting to hope. "So, we've said our apologies. Can we go back to normal?"**

**Rory smiled. "You think our relationship is normal?"**

**He shrugged. "Well, it as normal as a relationship can be for a habitual menace and a perpetual Mary."**

"**I'm not a Mary," Rory insisted for what she felt was the hundredth time.**

"**Yes you are, but I'm working on that."**

**Her eyebrows shot up. "You are?" He nodded. "We already went through breaking and entering. I got a little ahead of myself on that one. I haven't even gotten you to cut class yet."**

**She scoffed. "Good luck on that one."**

**He smiled at her, his arrogance shining through his icy blue eyes. "I love challenges."**


End file.
